Wednesday, 20 September 2017

Rach Eats Lunch: Chickpea, Feta and Mushroom Calzone

(Oh, hey, pardon me a sec - my recipes are starting to get a bit posh around here. Check that recipe title out. Wow.) You've heard of Taco Tuesdays - it still needs to be more of a thing in the UK - so how about Pizza Wednesdays? If I'm absolutely honest, homemade pizza is lovely but the dough takes ages. So. Much. Waiting. Around. It's like waiting for me to finish getting ready (sorry, Mum!) In reality, you don't need much for pizza dough, it's just making sure you have the right ingredients in. Yeast, for example. I bought a small tub of yeast last year, which was great, however it involved popping it in a jug of lukewarm water, covering it with a tea towel and waiting for the yeast to froth up. See, look, more waiting! This time around, I've picked up a sachet of fast action yeast. It only cost 28p, which is a bargain for less frequent bread-making. To top it all off, this recipe requires absolutely no kneading, proving, or rising. Nicely done, guys. Nicely done.

But I'm not making your typical flat, thick crust pizza today - nope, I am going to up my game a bit and make a calzone. This is the one dish I have always fancied trying, and it's surprisingly simple. Think of a sausage roll or a cheese toastie, except it's a pizza. Folded over. And no, it's not the two-slices-of-leftover-pizza-squashed-together-in-a-sandwich-toaster thing I've seen online. (If you do try it, let me know. Send pics. Or send me some, more like.) For a topping, I've decided to be a fancy pants and pop my fave foods inside: good ol' chickpeas, feta cheese and mushrooms. They're not just my faves, though. I'm using up my leftovers. As always. I will never get over the something-something that sliced mushrooms add to a pizza, nor will I forget the extra flavour dimension of adding feta AND mature cheddar. Even more incredible is the pizza sauce: four simple ingredients, one tasty sauce. Woohoo! Filling-wise, you can pop whatever you like in it, I'm not going to pull you up on it! This dough makes enough for two. You can split one in half and freeze it ready for another day if you like, just don't forget to pop it in a box and label the date on it. I've clingfilmed the remaining half of the dough and it's sitting in the fridge as we speak. (Hope it doesn't expand and take over the world...) Ready to be surprised by how simple homemade calzone is?

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Chickpea, Feta and Mushroom Calzone

by Rachael Elliott September-20-2017

A truly delicious, easy to create calzone, perfect for family meals.

Ingredients

190g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

7g fast action yeast sachet

1 tablespoon olive oil

112ml warm water (half and half boiling and cold)

50g tinned tomatoes

1 teaspoon garlic granules

1 teaspoon salt and pepper, ground

15g feta cheese

15g grated cheddar cheese

1 handful thinly sliced mushrooms

1 tablespoon drained chickpeas

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 190℃ and line a large baking tray with paper. Start off with the sauce - put the tinned tomatoes, garlic granules and salt and pepper in a blender - gently blend it tegether into a thick sauce.Add the flour, salt, yeast, oil and warm water to a bowl - put your mixer on high using a dough hook until a dough is formed. I used a few extra tablespoons of warm water to help it bind.Take the dough out. Pop it on a floured surface, or on baking paper or clingfilm if you're like me and want to avoid any mess. Split it into two portions. Roll the dough into a thin round circle.Next up, add your toppings. On one half of the dough circle, leaving about 2cm gap around the edges, put the tomato sauce on first, before adding the cheddar, crumbling over feta, and finally topping it with the sliced mushrooms and chickpeas. Don't overfill it!Fold the dough over the top of the toppings. Give the edges a pinch so that they stick together, and gently shape the edges into a crescent moon.Put the calzones on a baking tray and bake for roughly 15-17 minutes until golden and everything's boiling hot inside. You might see poke holes in the photos, that's where I had a look with my temperature gauge! Serve immediately with salad and wedges, if you like.